Spring Gifts
by wingedflower
Summary: Lance is always homesick, but some days are harder than others; especially this day, when he would give anything in the universe to be back on Earth with his family. For the time being, his space family will have to do - but maybe that's not so bad after all. (Langst, angst & fluff, team-as-family dynamics)


"Guys, I know we should start our training session now, but I just found _this_ inside my helmet..." Shiro walked slowly into the training deck, holding his helmet in one hand and in the other a small, egg-shaped object, which was decorated in black and white stripes. "Does anyone have any idea what this thing is?"

"Hey, I found one in my helmet too!" Lance exclaimed. He opened his palm and revealed an identical object, except that this one had blue stripes instead of black. "I was just about to ask you the same question!"

"Make it three," Keith muttered, holding his own red-striped egg. "Did our lions lay eggs during the night or something?"

"Lions don't lay _eggs_ , Keith," Pidge said while fiddling with her green-striped egg, turning it from side to side in her hands. She narrowed her eyes. "Actually, I take that back. Our lions are sentient robots who can fly and shoot lasers, I guess they might as well lay eggs..."

"I guarantee you the lions are not capable of doing such a thing," Allura hunched down to examine Pidge's egg, wrinkling her forehead. "To be honest, I have no idea what these objects are, nor where they came from..."

A snort of laughter was suddenly heard, and they all turned around to see Hunk standing with his hands fisted against his cheeks, barely able to contain his giggles.

Shiro quirked an eyebrow. "Hunk?"

Hunk snored again and lowered his hands. "You guys are so clueless," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "Does any of you ever bother to look at the Earth calendar Pidge and I programmed in our tablets when we all just got here?"

Shiro blinked. "I totally forgot about that." And he was not the only one, judging by Lance and Keith's expressions.

" _I_ use it, but, to be honest, I've been so busy lately with working on improving Green's cloaking that I forgot to check the date," Pidge said, clearly disappointed at herself. "What did we miss?"

"Well, it's _Easter_ , you dumb-dumbs," Hunk said, spreading his arms in emphasis. "And those are Easter eggs! I made them last night and hid them in your helmets! I thought this would be a nice surprise..." his voice wavered. "But, since none of you was awareof the occasion, I guess the surprise is ruined..."

"What? No!" Pidge called. "This is an awesome surprise! It's our fault we didn't notice the date. Those are really cool, Hunk, thanks."

"Yeah, good thinking, buddy," Shiro smiled warmly at the yellow paladin, who returned the smile after a moment of hesitation.

"What is 'Easter'?" Allura asked curiously. "And what does it have to do with eggs?"

"It's a holiday from Earth," Hunk explained. "We'll tell you more about it after training, when we eat these babies - yes, they are edible, and I made ones for you and Coran as well, princess, I put them in your rooms."

"That is very kind of you, Hunk," Allura smiled. "I can't wait to hear more about Earthian holidays and traditions."

The only one who didn't seem excited at all about the whole occasion was Lance, who remained completely silent while the others were chattering and only stared at his Easter egg with narrowed eyes. "What day is it, Hunk?" he asked eventually, his voice oddly strained.

"I already told you, Lance, it's Easter, have you not been listening?"

"No, I mean, what is the accurate date," Lance insisted, his eyes still fixated on the egg.

"Oh. Sorry. Um, it's April 10."

Lance released a long breath. "So this means March is already over, right?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Well, considering that March usually comes before April, then yes, I think we can state in confidence that March is over."

Lance did not answer Keith's remark, which was unusual enough to draw everyone's suspicion. But instead of providing further explanation, Lance only sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, his mouth twitching awkwardly.

"Lance? Is everything alright?" Shiro asked carefully.

Lance's eyes startled open as if only now he noticed the others' presence. He drew a sharp breath and shook his head fervently. "Yeah, of course, everything's peachy. L-let's just train, okay? We've already wasted enough time."

Wanting to stick to their training schedule was even more out of character for Lance than avoiding an argument with Keith, and they all exchanged questioning looks. But, since Lance showed no signs of telling them what was going on, they decided to leave it for now and start the training as planned.

However, Lance's mind was clearly distracted throughout training. His movements were clumsy and his aim, which had always been flawless, was so sloppy it was as if he didn't even see the targets in front of him. It was when he accidently shot Keith's bayard out of his hand that the red paladin hauled in rage and walked straight to Lance, poking his finger into his chestplate. "What is your _problem_ today?!" he yelled. "You better speak up or I'll cut your bayard in half!"

"Whoa, Keith, easy there," Hunk raised his hands in a soothing gesture. But instead of standing up for himself, Lance only bowed his head down, his shoulders hunched in defeat and the bayard disappearing from his grip. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," he murmured.

Keith's eyes widened in surprise and he removed his finger from Lance's chest, clearly confused by the blue paladin's resignation. "Um..." he started, apparently at loss of words.

"Let's all take a small break, shall we?" Shiro suggested. He nodded towards the upper control room where Allura and Coran supervised the entire deck, and all the training bots vanished at once.

"Lance," Shiro stepped forward, trying to make the other boy look at him. "I can tell you have something on your mind. I mean, no offense, but you're not very good at hiding your emotions. Do you think you can tell us what's going on? We might be able to help."

"Yeah, it's not good to keep things like that inside," Hunk said, then grimaced and rubbed his stomach. "I know from experience."

Lance kept staring at his feet for a while, then sighed and plopped to the floor with his legs crossed. He looked very tired all of a sudden.

"Remember back at the Garrison when Mari called and told me she was pregnant?" Lance suddenly turned to Pidge and Hunk, who jumped slightly at the direct question.

Hunk rubbed his chin in consideration. "Hmm... yeah, I remember now. I think it was a couple of days before we found Shiro."

"That's right," Lance confirmed solemnly.

"Well I don't remember this at all, but I believe you guys," Pidge said. Hunk glared at her, and she flinched. "What? We weren't actual friends back then, I was too busy trying to track down my family and didn't really notice what any of you was saying," she said defensively.

Hunk made a face while Keith interrupted, "excuse me, but who's Mari?"

"Marisol, my oldest sister." Lance cleared his throat before moving on. "Anyway, she was only at her first trimester when we talked, but she could already tell that the birth was due in March. _This_ March." He returned his gaze to the floor. "So, if it's already April on Earth..."

"...then she had already had the baby," Pidge said slowly as realization dawned upon all of them.

Lance's jaw worked as fought to keep a straight face. "Yep. Assuming everything went well, my sister is a mother now. Her first child, the first grandson to my parents, and I... I'm not there for them. I never was."

"Oh, Lance," Hunk sighed, his voice radiating with empathy. He sat next to Lance and wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder, pulling him close. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Me too," Pidge said in a low voice and took Lance's other side, resting her small palm over his knee. "I can only image how badly you want to be there right now. This... really sucks."

Lance huffed out a humorless chuckle as he leaned into Hunk's side. "Well, I guess what we want isn't necessarily what we get."

Shiro knelt in front of Lance. "I'm sorry to hear about it, buddy. Do you... do you at least know if it's a boy or a girl?" he asked carefully.

Lance shook his head. "No. It was too early to know back then. But even if she had known, she wouldn't want to find out before the birth. She wanted to keep it a surprise." He choked back a sob, trying to hide it with laughter but failing as his eyes started to well up. "Fuck, I don't even know if I have a nephew or a niece. This is just... _fuck_." He hiccuped once but was still determined to hold back tears as he wiped his eyes with his arm, hiding from his friends' glances.

Hunk and Pidge met each other's eyes over Lance's head, both looking worried and uncertain of what to do. Keith leaned against the wall a few feet away, looking eager to help but at the same time ashamed of himself for yelling at Lance earlier. Even Shiro had no idea what to say to make Lance feel better. How can you possibly comfort someone who had missed the most important day in his sister's life?

"I'm such a horrible brother," Lance said all of a sudden. His face was still hid behind his arm.

"Hey, don't talk like this," Hunk scolded him. "You know that's not true."

"But I _am_ ," Lance insisted. "I left Earth without saying anything to my family. No goodbyes, no explanations, not even a note. I just... _vanished_. My parents have probably gone crazy from worrying about me, but Mari... Mari was _pregnant_ , she had enough on her plate even without her brother suddenly disappearing on her. I left her to deal with all this crap _and_ wasn't there for her when she finally gave birth. What kind of person does that to his family? Well, definitely not the person that _I_ want to be."

A grim silence hung in the air after Lance finished venting, heavy and stifling like a wet blanket. Hunk tightened his grip around Lance's shoulder but said nothing, watching his friend with sad eyes. Eventually the silence was broken by Allura, who had entered the training deck a few minutes earlier with Coran but was ignored by the paladins, who apparently were too focused on Lance to notice the two Alteans.

Allura cleared her throat to notify them of their presence and approached the spot where Lance was still curled into himself. She waved her elegant hands at Shiro, her expression kind but full of meaning, and the man immediately took the hint and stepped aside to allow her to kneel in front of Lance.

"Lance," she said softly. "Can you look at me, please? It is not an order; I'm asking you as a friend."

Lance stirred at the sound of her voice. It took him a few moments, but he lowered his arm from his face and raised his head slowly until he made eye contact with Allura. His eyes were red but dry.

"I understand that you're having a hard time right now," Allura said. "I know you have a big family that is very dear to you, and I remember you once told me just how close you and your big sister are. Missing the birth of her first child... this probably hurts so, so much. We all understand that, and no one is judging you for feeling bad about it."

The others murmured in agreement but Lance didn't seem to notice, staring silently at Allura with tired eyes.

"But I want you to remember one important fact," Allura continued. Her eyes were now glowing with the same spark of determination which proved time after time what a true leader she was. "You did not leave your family because you wanted to, nor because you're selfish or a bad brother; You left them because you have a mission to fulfill. And that mission is to protect the universe and make it a better place for all living creatures, including the people of Earth _and_ your new nephew or niece who are only now beginning their way in the world. You cherish their memory when you pilot the blue lion, when you fight the Galra and liberate all these planets from their rule of terror. You did not betray them, Lance; they're right here with you." She reached out and placed her smooth palm against Lance's chest, right above his heart. He looked down at it, his shoulders relaxing the slightest bit.

"What the princess has just said are truly words of wisdom, my boy," Coran chimed in, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as he smiled fondly at the group on the floor. "While defending the universe from the Galra, you're defending your family as well. You're defending their _future_ , ensuring they will be able to live in comfort and peace. I have no doubt they will be proud of you when they hear about all the things you did as a paladin of Voltron."

"Yeah," Pidge said and patted Lance's knee, although her own eyes were moist now. "Just think of all the cool sharpshooter stories you're going to tell this kid when you come back! You'll be, like, the coolest uncle ever."

Lance laughed shakily. "You really think so?"

"We all think so," Shiro said. "You're a great friend, Lance, and a great brother, and I'm sure you'll make a great uncle as well. You just need to accept the fact that it might not happen as soon as you would have liked. I know it's hard, but it will pay off at the end, I promise."

"And at least you have us until this happens," Keith said from his corner near the wall. Everyone's head shot at his direction and he flinched, his face rapidly turning the color of his armor. "What? I mean it! I'm just trying to be nice and stuff!" he grumbled.

"You're doing great, buddy," Hunk said, trying very hard not to laugh.

Lance waved his hand weakly at the red paladin. "Thanks, Keith. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," Keith murmured.

"Do you feel better now, Lance?" Allura asked gently. "I'm not expecting you to be completely okay right away, of course. It's still a lot to take in. But I do hope you find some comfort in the fact that we're all here for you."

"I do." Lance placed his own palm over Allura's. "Thanks, Allura. I really needed that today. You... you kind of remind me of my sister, you know? You're both pretty and smart and can be really scary when you're angry... that was a compliment," he added quickly.

Allura smiled. "I am deeply honored."

"If I may, princess and paladins, I believe we should all reconsider our plans for today," Coran said loudly, pulling at his mustache. "How about we cancel the current training and go watch one of your Earthian 'movie' things in the common room? You humans may pick the movie while I take the role of providing suitable snacks for the occasion."

"Great idea, Coran," Shiro said. "Except... maybe Hunk will take care of the snacks? We still need to eat those eggs, after all."

"I've actually made a few dozens of them," Hunk admitted. "I'll go get them from the kitchen."

"And I'll go grab my laptop," Pidge called, giving Lance's knee one last squeeze before sprinting out of the room.

"Oh, I'll finally get to hear about this Easter of yours!" Allura clasped her hands in excitement. "I'm always glad to learn about new cultures."

Lance, usually the first one to get pumped up over throwing a party instead of training, squirmed in his place in discomfort. "Are you sure about this?" he asked nervously. "I didn't mean to ruin training..."

"It's fine, Lance," Hunk reassured, pulling him to a stand. "We just said we're here for you, right? Besides, we can all use the day off."

Lance tried to smile at him, although it did not quite reach his eyes. He still wasn't feeling one hundred percent okay, but it was a start.

* * *

"I'm done," Pidge announced as she walked into the kitchen, where the rest of the team was having dinner (which unfortunately included only food goo since they had finished all the Easter eggs during the movie).

"Done with what?" Keith asked mid-chewing.

Pidge slid into empty seat next to Lance. She placed her laptop on the dinner table and scooted closer to her friend. "It took me a couple of hours, but I managed to hack into the main server of Varadero General Hospital," she said casually, as if this was as simple as brushing her teeth.

Lance's spoon slipped from his grip and hit the floor with a loud clank. "You did _what_?" he blurted out.

"Pidge, we're light-years away from Earth, how the hell did you manage to do that," Hunk asked, staring at Pidge with wide eyes.

Pidge sighed. "Do you really want to hear the whole explanation?"

"Um, hell yeah, thank you very much."

Pidge opened her mouth to answer, but Keith cut her off. "Is any of us going to understand what you're about to say except for Hunk?"

Pidge closed her mouth promptly. "Probably not."

"Then tell him later in private," Keith leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

"What exactly do you want with Varadero General Hospital?" Lance asked in confusion.

Pidge touched the tip of her glasses. "Well, I figured they must keep records of all the hospital's wards," she cleared her throat before adding, "including the maternity ward."

Lance grew at least five shades paler at once. "You... you can't possibly mean that..."

"I found Marisol's file," Pidge said quietly. "Apparently she had the baby less than two weeks ago, on March 29, so I didn't have to dig too deep. But I didn't look at it," she added as Lance grew even paler, grabbing the edge of the table for support. "I downloaded it to my computer but didn't open it, I swear. I wanted you to be the first one to find out. Only if you want, of course."

Lance didn't reply. He stayed frozen in his seat, staring at the screen in a mixture of emotions.

"Lance, you don't have to do it now," Shiro said gently. "You can wait until you're ready."

"Do you want us to leave the room, my boy?" Coran asked with a concerned look.

Lance drew a sharp breath and shook his head. "No. You guys can stay. I - I prefer it this way." He reached out for Pidge and she immediately took his hand in hers, rubbing his knuckles reassuringly. "I... I'm going to open it now."

"Whenever you're ready, man," Hunk said.

Lance took one more steadying breath before clicking on the file with sister's name. There were a few ticks of silence which seemed like forever.

And then Lance released a high-pitched cry and let go of Pidge, burying his face in his hands.

Everybody stood up at once. "What is it?" Keith blurted out, panic written all over his face. The others seemed to be feeling exactly the same as they watched Lance anxiously.

Lance's shoulders began to shake violently but somehow he managed to speak, his voice thick and muffled behind his hands. " _Twins_ ," he breathed. "Mari had twins. A boy and a girl. _Un sobrino y una sobrina._ "

" _What?_ " they all yelled and rushed to Lance's side, looking at the screen to verify what they have just heard.

"By Wazblay's name, Number three is right!" Coran exclaimed and patted Lance's shoulder enthusiastically.

"Dude, this is _awesome!_ Congratu - " Pidge cheered, but her voice died down as Lance suddenly perked up and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in her shoulder.

" _Thank you,_ " he whispered.

Pidge smiled brightly and wrapped her short arms around Lance, not even bothering to fix her glasses which lay crooked on her nose as Lance accidently knocked them aside. "You're welcome," she said.

She felt a large, soft body pressing against her back and knew it was Hunk even before she saw his thick, dark arms engulfing both her and Lance. After that, it did not take too long for the rest of her friends to join in, forming a huge group hug whose center was Lance, who was constantly sniffing and sobbing into Pidge's shirt. But she didn't mind that, she didn't mind at all - especially since she knew those were happy tears.

They may be a small, awkward family, but they were still _family._ A group of people - and some aliens - who loved and supported each other, both in painful times and happy times. And as long as they kept their little family intact, they could overcome anything in the universe.

As long as they made sure they didn't miss the important moments in each other's life, missing their old families could become a little bit easier to deal with.


End file.
